Stitches In Time: A Short Story Collection
by Mable
Summary: A collection of the short 9 stories and oneshots I have written over the years. Multiple couples and scenarios looking in at the Stitchpunks' lives and the creation and maintaining of their little family.
1. A Picture's Worth

**Mable: If you've read my 9 fics before, then you will probably notice that these are not new works. They've received some new editing and spacing, but they are the 9 fics I wrote over the course of, oh, three or four years. This is just a way to tidy up my lengthy list of fics in a neat bow. ^-^ Enjoy!**

_**A Picture's Worth**_

The title 'family album' barely made any sense to Seven and she curiously opened it to scan through the pictures listed before her. She was soon amazed at what she was seeing in the seemingly simple book. Humans, happy humans, all together in different poses with wide smiles on their faces. There was one of a woman and a man standing together in a church with many people, one of the same two in front of a house, a few of them with other humans, ones where the woman's stomach was enlarged, and even ones of a tiny newborn human baby.

She found herself smiling at the account of the family's life and looked at every picture as though they all told a separate story to her. Which they seemed to. Then she heard the footsteps and sighed, knowing about what she would have to face in only seconds. Seven and One had been in yet another fight, hence why she was in the lower house instead of up in the new sanctuary, this fight being quite a bad one.

It had been their first fight since they realized they were quite far from hating each other, as she used to believe. She smiled when she remembered the day that she realized, almost begrudgingly at the time, that One was seemingly courting her. He was actually trying to court her as well and it only seemed like it would only be a short amount of time before he gave up altogether. To her amazement and annoyance, he didn't. He was persistent.

It had been then when Seven realized that perhaps she wanted One to court her. Not long after, they became a couple.

"Seven…" It was One as she expected it to be and Seven looked down at the pictures to avoid the other's gaze. She didn't want to stay mad but she was too stubborn to admit defeat, so instead she decided the best way to make up would be to move around it.

Pretending that there was no fight she pointed to the book. "Have you seen these pictures before?" she questioned and could feel him move now to right behind her.

"I have not," he answered before deciding to lower himself into a kneeling position right beside her. From the way he barely lifted off the throne she was surprised that he was able to kneel at all. His sharp optics scanned the photos while Seven looked at him cautiously so that he wouldn't realize that she was, in fact, looking at him.

Finally she pointed out the picture of the man and woman in the church. "What are they doing in that one?" she asked, knowing One knew a bit more about humans since, unlike most of the others, he actually had known the Scientist personally.

"It's a wedding. They have just exchanged vows." There was a smile on both faces as they personally knew what weddings were. It was only around seven or eight months ago when they had exchanged the vows to be together forever.

They had done it in front of the others who were incredibly supportive, even though most of them barely understood what a wedding actually was. Two obviously did the way he was practically cheering through the entire ordeal and then ended up practically dancing around the room. Yes, Two had been quite overjoyed at the event. They were now together forever and this had been their first fight together since then. She felt One take and hold her hand subtly as he went into his own description of the other pictures.

"That is the house we are in, so I am assuming this was their first home after they were married." One pointed to the picture of them in front of the house, "Some family members, possibly still congratulating them on their joining. It these few they are tracking her pregnancy which I am guessing since her abdomen is inflating. Finally, this is their child. He's rather small for a newborn human."

Seven listened carefully to his assumption before speaking, "They look happy."

One nodded and squeezed the Warrior's hand. "Yes, but everyone looks happy in pictures. I'm sure there were hardships, doubts, fights…"

So that was it; One was trying to make an attempt to say that the fight was normal. He was trying to reassure her. This made Seven feel better, but she knew that the fight wasn't anything near normal.

"One… I didn't mean to snap at you when you were asking about the twins. I was just- I have been acting a bit agitated recently and I'm sorry."

The fight had been triggered about One asking numerous questions about the twins and had triggered Seven to become annoyed, triggering One to retort back, and triggering the fight to occur. Since Seven's pride gave way One allowed his to as well.

"No, it is my fault. I am the one who said you were acting agitated and I was the one prying on the twins. Honestly I was not suspecting you of planning to leave with them again…" One paused briefly, rubbed his thumb over Seven's hand, and the continued, "Seven, there has been something on my mind that I have been wanting to discuss with you… I guess with this book here this is the right time." He looked at the pictures of the happy couple, "Seven… Our marriage has had no problems up to this point and it is only because I am a coward that will not tell you what is on my mind."

If this was to make Seven feel better about herself while putting down One then it was working quite well. "Let's talk about it, One. I want to say things too, but…"

Silence overtook and One started again, "The other day, Two and I were speaking and… Our conversation took an odd turn. Since then, I have been having conflicting thoughts… I look at the twins playing, reading, and they only emphasis the thoughts I have been having."

Seven's optics widened and her breath quickened as she wondered what exactly Two had been telling One. "What kind of thoughts?" she asked while trying to hide any indication of worry in her voice.

One stayed staring at the pictures before them with an almost longing look. "The twins… They are so innocent, playful, and young… It makes me want something that is… Is incredibly out of reach… That would involve both of us committing to a large responsibility." He looked to her, "I haven't spoken of it for I did not want you to feel pressured by this. It is a very odd thing to want."

Relief, he didn't seem to know what Two did, and Seven pressed harder, "I won't feel pressured, One. That's what marriage is; we trust each other. You can tell me anything."

"I want a child." A silence took over as One's optics locked onto the picture of the new baby. Eventually he repeated, "I want to start a family with you." Seven knew she was staring, not answering, and knew that most likely One could take this in any direction he wanted to interpret it in.

She spoke now, "A child? If we could… You mean, children, perhaps more than one?"

One assumed she was avoiding this like the fight, hence the random question, "Perhaps. I just need to have something in my life that I know I have brought into the world, I want to be able to watch something grow and know I helped in their creation." The very un-One-like One looked at the picture of the baby and imagined if he had his own just like it. Then out of nowhere, Seven was making an odd noise and One identified it as crying. "Seven…?"

Though when the leader looked at her he realized it was certainly not crying, she was beginning to laugh. Now he was quite offended. "What is so amusing about me wanting a child? It could certainly be possible."

The Warrior caught his annoyance and started to silence herself, still with a wide smile across her face, "I was so afraid. I've been worrying all this time over nothing!" Still it was a blur of confusion for One who watched as she straightened herself. "One, I have been keeping something from you, and I have been acting weird and _feeling _weird for a reason. Two was the one who told me and, apparently, was trying to drop hints."

One was still staring in utter confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I saw Two about it a few days ago and he told me that, well, bluntly, that there are three souls inside of me."

"Three souls? How can you possibly have three souls?" He asked in disbelief as he looked down at the toggle holding her front closed. She took his other hand.

"One of them is mine, two of them are not." He was slowly starting to sink in to realization from the way his slanted optics were widening. "One, you're going to be a father."

He sputtered a bit, "A father?" His mind went blank save for what the word 'father' meant to him personally. His father, the Scientist, and how much he cared for him. How he would soon have the same relationship with, not one, but two small beings. He was clearly not upset and so Seven pressed her lips to his. He pressed his own back and massaged them over hers, holding her carefully as he caressed her scarred number.

The fight was over for good. The pictures went unnoticed.

The family in the pictures' life and memories had passed; One and Seven's were just beginning.

_**End**_


	2. Giving A Hand

**This was originally a request fic for MoonValley.**

_**Giving A Hand**_

Everyone was still flustered after what happened with the Machine, especially considering that half of the Stitchpunks awoke damaged in the Emptiness. This was only to be expected.

However, as Five whisked Nine behind a stack of books, patch still with a gaping hole, he looked more flustered than ever. Nine understood why; being the healer of the group, Five was currently juggling his own injury and four patients. So far Six and Eight had been dealt with; Eight had to have burnt fabric replaced on his leg and was still coughing while Six had to have his ankle fixed and his lens replaced.

Generally, Six, Eight, and Five got out pretty well considering where they had fallen. Two wasn't nearly as lucky; he was going to need massive surgery to replace his legs. Perhaps even more if they had to rebuild new legs. At least he was in a good mood; he was currently under magnet and his babbling with entertaining Eight and Six who were recovering.

"What's wrong?" Nine asked as Five began to pace before him. "I should fix your patch."

He moved closer, but Five waved it off, "N-No, I'm fine. We have to wait for the leather anyway."

Seven had left to get supplies from the Scientist's Workshop, which Nine still referred to as the 'First Room'. He had volunteered to go with her, but been reassured that he needed to stay behind and help Five. Three and Four were going through their things and managed to find a good supply of bolts and extra fabric as well.

"We have a problem," Five insisted as he rubbed his hands together anxiously. "I've got my hands full with Two. I have to keep him comfortable and I have to keep it from getting worse, and, oh goodness, it's best if I probably don't let him see his legs…"

He began to ramble until Nine lightly shook his shoulder. "Five, what's going on? Is Two worse?" Nine asked with dread in his voice.

Thankfully Five shook his head. "No, he's pretty… He's stable enough for the moment, but I'll have to start surgery as soon as Seven gets back. The problem is One."

Nine should've expected this but he actually didn't. As much of a problem as One was before, such as when he was at the Cathedral, One had been relatively quiet since he awoke. He had stayed close to the others, especially Eight, but said little to nothing.

"What, did he have a problem with Seven leaving?" Nine guessed and Five shook his head.

"No, he's just- He's not letting me work on his hand. Someone has to and I have everything to do it already, but he's reluctant. Can you try?" When Nine didn't respond right away, Five continued to pry. "I know that you and One aren't on the best terms, but I just- Please. I think I'm going to snap."

The zippered male decided not to mention One's sacrifice from earlier and instead simply agreed for Five's sake. He certainly did look like he was losing his mind. "Alright, I'll try. Don't expect a miracle though."

Five exhaled in relief, "Nine, you already are a miracle. Thanks." He even hugged his best friend who hugged back.

There had been so much stress and tension, so Nine was glad to ease Five's burden even the littlest bit more. They then separated and headed off; Five went back to Two while Nine got the items and went after One. It didn't take him too long to find the leader slightly slumped against the fountain while perched on a somewhat more cushioned leather bound book.

"One?" Nine spoke and the leader didn't respond. Concern started to fill the younger male and he moved closer, setting the tools and parts on the book. Already panic was starting to sink in as he thought about the lifeless bodies of the others. Frantically he grasped ahold of One's arm and gave a slightly more concerned, "One?!"

His slanted optics opened into widened spheres and he yanked his arm away. One almost lashed out with his uninjured arm but managed to stop himself. His widened optics immediately narrowed in annoyance and he nearly growled in his chest, mostly from embarrassment.

"Are you insane?!" he demanded. Nine felt overwhelming relief and became apologetic. He suddenly realized how silly he was to assume the worst.

"Sorry, I just panicked. I'm… I'm a little tense. Not as much as Five though," Nine joked in the hope that it would ease the mood.

It didn't, and One noticed the things that Nine brought and the fabric they were wrapped in. "What is that?"

Nine rubbed the back of his neck, looked over, looked back, and smiled. "Your hand." They stared at each other for a few moments.

"No," One suddenly announced. "No. Absolutely not. You can take that… Bundle of bent metal back to wherever you found it," he pointed with his good hand and pulled his legs against him body protectively.

It made him look much less threatening and more fearful than anything, even if his face was twisted with the normal annoyance. Nine refused to lose his patience and kept calm at One's stubbornness.

"You can't just keep your hand damaged," he tried.

"Work on someone else. I need my rest," One said.

Nine started to frown a slight bit more, "Everyone else is fixed. Two is stable, Eight's resting, Six's sleeping, and Five's not letting anyone at his patch until Two and you are fixed. Come on, I've got everything here."

He started to move closer when One's head shot over, "_You _are intending to do it? Alone? What on Earth do you know of healing?!"

Nine rolled his optics and insisted, "I know what I'm doing, One. It's not that difficult; I'm just reconstructing your fingers, right?" The older male hid his hand behind his body and said nothing.

Nine sat down and slid next to the Leader, crossing his legs and pulling the tools closer to him. "I'll be careful and if you want me to stop halfway through then we can… I don't have a magnet- Two is using Eight's."

One scoffed a bit, "As long as _Eight _isn't using Eight's then I am fine." This actually got a light chuckle out of Nine. One's resolve wavered and he exhaled, freeing his hand and offering it to the younger. "If anything goes wrong I am holding you accountable… But as it is everything is more difficult with one working hand."

He offered it to Nine who clenched and flinched at the sight of it. It certainly was in bad condition and Nine knew when it had happened. The explosion from the grenades had caused it, before _it _happened. Thinking about it again almost caused Nine to feel worse.

"Staring at it won't make it go away. I've looked at it long enough," One pointed out to him, getting a slightly saddened look afterwards.

"No, it's… Okay…" Nine started as he looked it over. "This finger is salvageable. I need to pop it into place and tighten the bolt, but it's alright condition. This one feel secure enough, it needs the other half replaced. The third one's completely missing… Well, you can see that." He watched to see if One was in any form of pain. The male didn't react to his fiddling much so he supposed that he wasn't. "I guess I start with putting this one back into place. I'll… I'll be quick."

One closed his optics, "Just be quick with it. It will be a lot less uncomfortable."

The younger braced himself and in a sudden moment put the finger back into place. One shivered and released a half of a cry and a hiss following it. After a few moments he opened his optics wearily and looked to the hand as Nine gently felt over his finger.

"Alright, that's all done. One finger saved! Now we move onto the half one. I'll tighten this bolt in a minute…" Nine went through the things until he found the proper piece and set it into place, then set the bolt and began to tighten it with the screwdriver.

One's optics clenched again and his breathing was heavy. This probably wouldn't normally be painful, but considering the situation the younger guessed it somehow became so. Guilt filled him as he slowly finished the job. Once done he set the screwdriver aside and One lightly tried the finger. It reacted to his command in a positive way.

"…Very good," One complimented in a strange lapse of character. Nine was surprised by it and looked to him for a few moments. Then he looked down at the injured hand before lifting it to his chest.

"… What are you doing?" One asked slowly and Nine held his hand. It was such an oddly affectionate gesture.

Nine shook his head softly, "This is just another thing caused by my stupid curiosity. What was I thinking? I knew there were live grenades in that tunnel! Five and I had seen them- We could have all died when we hid beside them!" His own furrowed brows and frustration towards himself surprised One. Especially when the next words slipped out, "And then you still risked yourself for me after I failed."

One looked downwards for a few moments and then decided to do something more than just sitting there and waiting for it to pass. Nine clearly felt awful and it was shockingly making the older male feel awful as well. One reached out with his free hand and laid it on Nine's shoulder.

"There's no point in concerning about the past now. We all did things worth regretting… But this is arguably a time for celebration, is it not? We're all alive, the Machine is not."

Finally Nine nodded in agreement and gave a small smile. "I guess you're right. Sorry about that…" He felt an amount of sheepishness fill him, along with a soft light coming from himself. Nine gawked at it, "One, I'm glowing."

The older male actually managed a smile of his own at the other's innocent comment. "You're blushing, Nine. That's how we blush," it felt strangely nice explaining something to Nine. He had considered Nine as a threat to his throne for so long, though not anymore after everything that happened, and to be reminded that Nine was still a new Stitchpunk brought out his more supportive tendencies.

Like they had been before he had become so overprotective. At some point he had become bitter and paranoid, and now with his head clear he couldn't really remember what triggered such behavior.

Nine brought him out of his thoughts with a quick chirp, "Alright, now let's work on this last one… This one's going to be trouble. Do you want me to go see if I can find another magnet?"

One considered it, but then shook his head. "It's fine, I can handle it well enough. I've come this far." With that Nine began.

He fixed the finger parts together first and then began to tediously work at attaching it to the hand. Removing bolts, adding them back, caressing metal, and holding firm when something needed a stronger hand. At this point One was trembling. His other hand sat on his leg and jittered uncomfortably. Occasionally it clenched on his own knee. It wasn't until the tightening and the final fixing began that the Leader felt the stronger pain. There was a lightheadedness and he briefly swayed a bit.

Nine noticed and paused, but the leader quickly blurted out with, "Just hurry and finish it."

So, the younger did so and soon it was finished. He quickly went over everything, tightening and checking, until he was satisfied. "Looks like everything's done. The thumb?"

He was answered with a shaking head. "Don't bother, it's just a small nick if anything," One assured and leaned back on the marble behind him.

Nine looked concerned as he looked the leader over. "You don't look well."

The older lightly murmured as he rubbed over his face, "I feel unwell."

The younger stood from the book. "I think you need to get some rest. Come on, we'll head back to the others and make a bed."

The older muttered like he was disagreeing, but didn't bluntly stop Nine until he started to gather his things. "It's fine, I already found a place."

This surprised Nine and he wondered if this 'place' was just a way for One to not have to go back to the others. Regardless, he went along with it. "Alright, that'll work well enough. Lead the way."

He expected One to inquire why he was following if he believed him, but he didn't. Perhaps One was just too unsteady to even think to question it. As One led him he noticed that the older male was becoming a little worse. "One, I'm thinking you're having some sort of exhaustion or fatigue- Something is going on. You're looking pretty rough."

"It's not much further," One defended. He was actually quite right as only a few moments later they were behind one of the still standing bookshelves. A fallen curtain was tucked behind it; Nine didn't know what window it could've come from. One approached the area as though it was his oasis, laying down on the mound of fabric wearily. "Something… Something does feel a bit strange…" he admitted and the younger climbed over to look him over. His hand went to the other's head and immediately caught sight of a raging fever.

"How long have you been hot like this?" Nine suddenly demanded and One grumbled back.

"Not long. I feel cold myself." He was so casual and weary sounding while the younger suddenly wondered if something had went wrong.

"No, no, you don't understand, One. This is bad. You are burning and I don't- Okay, just keep laying down." He went to cover the older and then stopped. "I'm going to go ask Five. Don't go anywhere."

As he stood One spoke after him, "I have no intention of doing anything other than sleeping. Good night."

Still Nine couldn't accept it as just that and hurried back to Five. The Healer was currently assisting Two and Nine quickly noticed that Seven had returned. From the bundle she carried it was obvious that she had managed to find something worth bringing back.

"How'd it go?" Nine asked and Seven smiled to him.

"Great. I found more than I needed."

"We can begin rebuilding Two's legs now!" Five chimed in.

The Inventor chuckled at his delight. "Now Five, you almost sound more excited than I am." He sounded tired himself, but in a good mood.

"That's great!" Nine forced a smile before his mood turned, "But I'm having an issue with One."

Seven raised a brow while Five looked confused and asked, "He won't let you work on his hand either?" The younger shook his head.

"No, I got it, I fixed it. He's just starting to run a fever now…" Five's optic widened and Nine's inner metals dropped in dread. "Oh no, that's… T-That's not good…" The Healer rubbed over the hole in his patch, wincing and bringing his hand back abruptly, and then it was Two who spoke.

"It's normal. I'll probably run one myself after all this work on my legs. Just make sure he rests and try to put something cool and damp on his forehead. I'm sure the twins have cloth and the fountain is quite cool; I should know, I spent a good deal floating in there!" He laughed and they all remembered that he was still high on magnet.

Though what he said made sense to Nine who hurried off, calling back with, "Thanks, Two! I'll try!" It didn't take long to find Three and Four, and thankfully they were able to quickly secure a proper sized clump of soft fabric that he then dampened. Finally he ran back to One and crouched on the bedding beside him.

"One?" he asked quietly and after a few moments the older rolled onto his back.

"What?" he grumbled out. "I told you I was going to nap."

Nine frowned down at him. "And I said that I was going to ask Five about what would help your fever. Here, he said- Two said a cool, damp rag would help." He fiddled with it in his hands before reaching forward to lay it on One's forehead. The Leader sighed at the coolness and shivered a little bit. Nine found himself watching in interest. "There. That's got to be better," he encouraged, hoping that the other would start to cool down.

After a few moments One opened his slanted optics again and stared upwards at the younger male leaning over him. He didn't say anything and simply stared, which left Nine feeling a little confused and perhaps a tag self-conscious. "…Something wrong?"

One's optics narrowed a bit as though they were closing more. Not in an aggressive way in the slightest. "Not at all," he responded back and then continued to stare.

Heat settled back onto Nine's face. "I was just wondering. You're sort of staring at me."

One got a small smile and murmured, "You're blushing again."

This only made it so much worse. Nine guessed that One's slight change in behavior was from the fever, or perhaps from him helping him earlier. Either way Nine could feel One's eyes on him. "Y-Yeah…"

Then One suddenly stated in an equally bold fashion, "You must be tired after today, after the last few days… Rest with me. The fever will go away on its own."

"Rest… You mean you want me to lay down with you?" Nine asked in surprise. He definitely didn't expect One to be one to share, especially if was something he found or made. "Alright. You're sure it wouldn't be a problem?" Yet of course Nine considered it. He was rather exhausted and knew if he went back to the others he would feel the urge to do something else and wouldn't rest. His body was sore and starting to shut down on its own. He knew he only has at most an hour more before he was forced to sleep anyway.

"Of course not, I willingly offered," One's voice was a bit raspy as he spoke. He didn't look away as Nine pulled back his hand, leaving the wet rag behind, and started to shuffle under a fold of the curtain.

The younger sent one last glance to the older who was still watching him. "Okay, well… Good night." He then laid down, facing in the opposite direction. "I'm only going to sleep for a minute. If anything changes, the fever or anything, wake me." He then closed his eyes and started to try and relax. It was odd, but after a few moments he began to feel like he was going to fall asleep.

Then an arm circled his waist from behind. Nine flinched slightly and his optics shot open. He didn't make a motion to look down as he clearly knew whose hand it was. In fact he could feel One's buckles against his back. The Leader sighed a bit and attempted to rest as well. Nine stayed still for a minute or two before relaxing. The embrace was warm and comforting.

"I don't regret sacrificing myself to save you, Nine… You shouldn't feel guilty about my choice. I don't." Nine lightly gasped at the comment.

Silence returned between them. Nine was start to blush again but there was a growing warmth in his middle that reassured him. It was an inviting and comfortable feeling that made him feel loved. That was until One added in, "Now do me a favor and get on my other side. My hand's trapped underneath me and is very uncomfortable."

Almost immediately Nine broke out in a peal of laughter. One's optics widened slightly in surprise and Nine rolled over instead, boldly tossing an arm over One and resting his head against the other's.

"There, now your arm is past me. You need the rest more than I do," Nine teased and practically cuddled into One's side.

He didn't care if it was too bold; he loved the feeling and the older didn't tug away from him. Instead he pursed his lips briefly, then it changed to a smile, and he lifted his injured hand to rest on Nine's back, holding him close. It was only after this that the two felt fully comfortable and stared to fully rest. This was the best outcome for such a long and tiring day, and no matter what happened they were content.

Nine knew One would be there to protect him. One knew Nine would be there to fix him after he did.

_**FIN**_


	3. Hereafter Death

**This was the 2013 Halloween fic.**

_**Hereafter Death**_

He didn't like the sight of the building when they were standing outside staring at it. It visually appeared beautiful, still intact with worn, blue shutters. However, Six didn't feel right about it, especially as they entered inside. A storm was brewing in the clouds and they had no choice but to stay here for the night. The others didn't seem to mind and a few were even curious about seeing the inside of what looked to be a mansion.

Dust was thick inside. It covered the floors and furniture in a thick layer and triggered the twins to pull their hoods up over their mouths.

"Look at this," One snapped in annoyance. "All of this filth. We might as well stay outside and face the storm."

Nobody else agreed and Seven exhaled in an attempt to be calm. "We can't go out into that. The Sanctuary is too far away and we won't make it before the storm rolls in."

The others seemed to agree and Two looked at the surroundings. "I think it is quite nice. Imagine, a building this large survived the war, and this far out of the city as well." He smiled, pleased, and turned to Five. "Not many humans were able to live in homes like this. They were quite expensive and hard to maintain." The Healer listened with interest. Nine did as well, being as interested in humans as he was, and that's when Two made a suggestion. "Let's check some of the rooms down here for candles. We'll most likely head onto the second floor to find the bedrooms where we will stay for the night."

Normally, it would be sunset about now, but the overcast sky blocked it out. Nobody objected to going to bed early to sleep through the storm. Seven and the twins patrolled the hall, Nine headed into a nearby room and Five followed loyally, Two entered an open archway, was followed by One, and left Eight and Six alone.

Six didn't move because he was feeling very strange. Eight didn't move because any time that he could use to taunt Six was considered valuable. Though he was honestly a bit curious when he noticed Six's behavior.

"What's wrong with you?" Eight asked bluntly.

The Artist was breathing deeply, clutching his key, and slowly looked up to the Guard. He looked afraid and Eight assumed that he was afraid of him. "I… I-I…" Six stuttered out and Eight lost patience.

"Yeah, I don't really care if it's going to take you an hour to answer," Eight retorted and crossed to the front door that had been opened to come in and pushed it shut. Six still refused to move as he had the horrific feeling that something was terribly wrong.

Meanwhile, Three and Four had found their way into a small sitting room that had walls of shelves topped with books. Their eyes literally lit up as they went to investigate.

"Be careful!" Seven warned as she also looked through the room for candles.

Nine and Five were actually in a room connected to the small library from going through the door they had. It had fewer books in it, but it did have two couches, a large chair, and a small radio on a table. The window was blocked by a flimsy curtain that was a deep green and also thick with dust. Through the small bit of glass Five could see a few drops of water falling from the sky and remembered the last incident involving rain.

Things were different now. It was as though they were reborn, ready to start over, willing to get along as a somewhat functional family, and that made the entire incident worth it. Nine seemed to notice Five's gaze upon the window and spoke up, "Are you okay?" He knew certain things triggered memories. The Phonograph, certain music, certain words, and especially rain would trigger memories.

Five gave his friend a certain smile. "Yeah. Just thinking."

"Be careful with that." Nine answered playfully and managed to get a small chuckle out of the buttoned one before looking towards the door. Nobody was there and nobody seemed to be looking in, so he turned to the Healer, "Do you want to- you know?"

Five was hesitant to agree. Recently, he and Nine had become a bit more affectionate with each other, in a bizarre way that they had decided to keep hidden. They weren't sure why they wanted to stay hidden with it other than dreading One's reaction. This affection had started a bit after Nine had lost interest Seven and was still beginning.

"I don't know…" Five responded. Nine prodded a bit more.

"Come on. It'll be fun!" he insisted and Five finally gave in.

"Okay, but let's hurry. I don't want One to see."

Then, with that, they randomly embraced. It seemed innocent enough from afar, they assumed, but were slowly deciding that it wasn't exactly innocent. Especially when they knew they had to hide it. Nine managed to fit his arms around the heavy pack Five was carrying and the Healer responded positively. They stayed like this for a bit, just holding each other, until they were suddenly alerted to someone clearing their throat.

They both looked over to see none other than Seven who must have heard them talking and came to seek them out. Unlike Nine, Seven actually had not been interested in Nine romantically at any point, and had always seen him as a very close sibling.

Five still let out a short cry of horror when he saw her. He knew, eventually, someone was going to see them and think the worst. It didn't help that Nine was giving this overly guilty looking smile.

"Hey Seven," he greeted cautiously. "We- umm- haven't found any candles yet."

Seven had a small knowing smile but decided to save their dignity by looking back towards the twins. "I found some sort of lamp that might work. I'm not sure."

"Let me look at it!" Five said a bit too fast and he pulled away from Nine and nearly ran away. Seven followed and Nine lagged behind them both, quite embarrassed. Five looked at the found lamp that the twins were examining and immediately recognized it, as they apparently seemed to.

"It's a Kerosene lamp," Five explained before lightly shaking the form. "Feels like it has fuel in it too. This will work well," he said with yet another smile.

"Then that will work," Nine said. "But how are we going to move it?"

The buttoned male looked it over before explaining. "The glass comes off, so we can move that easily, and then we'll get the others to help carry the base. It shouldn't be too hard."

Meanwhile, Two had managed to find a candle in the dining room. A candelabra stood above the dining room table and had three candles jutting from it. The first, at the top, was new and looked unused while the other two were certainly used. The second was used a bit, but still good enough, and the third was worn to the nub. Two could only assume that during the war they were trying to ration all supplies. Whether food, clothing, or candles.

One followed him onto the table and was staring at the surrounding tableware. He wouldn't admit it, but the initialed silverware and fine china plates were impressive, a sign that the humans who were living in the house were well off as Two had suggested.

"Will that be enough?" he asked pryingly as Two tried to free the candle from its confines. "It will help. Besides," He made a soft noise from struggling to free the candle, "We will- ah- probably be in the same room."

With that, the candle came free and Two fell with it onto the table. It knocked the wind out of him, especially with the candle landing upon him. One approached and took the wax object from the Inventor before dragging it to the edge of the table.

"Eight!" he called and, shortly after, Eight appeared at the doorway and soon was standing under the dining room table.

"Boss?" One dropped the candle over the edge to fall onto Eight who managed to catch it.

"Take that to the stairs," One directed before turning back to Two who was now trying to get the second one free. However, this one had melted into the candle stick, and was even more difficult than before.

"Come make yourself useful," Two said, purposely teasing.

One gaped at this before his optics narrowed. "Excuse me? I will have you know-!"

They were interrupted by a loud smash and shattering noise. Both spun back to see that one of the plates, the one farthest away, was now missing. They crossed over to see that it had fallen off the table.

One huffed, "Must have been on the edge. Eight's footsteps must have sent it over."

Two chuckled, "Or, that is, your voice." The Leader glared at this as the Inventor returned to the candlestick.

It was a bit later that the Stitchpunks all met up at the stairwell. They managed to take the lamp upstairs, which Two was interested in, carried the candles, and soon had set up in a nearby bedroom. It had a normal sized bed, large for Stitchpunks, but would suffice for a bed for the night. There was some soft conversation and such before the Stitchpunks decided to head to sleep by time it went dark outside. The storm was growing louder during this time.

One and Two were out in the hall talking about something, one of the candles was out there keeping them alit. Eight was actually by the window staring out in an attempt to watch for Beasts, eventually laying back on the bed and starting to drift off. Six was curled between the pillows and burrowing his face into the crease to hide from anything. Five had already fallen asleep and Nine was laying nearby, looking surprisingly alert.

Seven was tucking in the twins who were obviously trying to insist that they weren't tired without words. She stroked their heads under their hoods. "Get some rest and maybe you can read some before we leave tomorrow," she said and the two reluctantly nodded in agreement.

The Warrior softly hummed to them to calm them down. They slowly started to close their optics, cuddled together, and Seven only quieted when she noticed something.

It was suddenly very cold in the room and Seven noticed it. She looked to the window to see that it was closed, as she expected Eight had opened it. He tucked the twins in a bit more before retiring to bed as well, not bothered by the temperature. About thirty minutes passed, Seven and Eight were now asleep, One and Two came in and moved to the bed to rest, and suddenly Nine was sitting up again, a wide smile on his face as he made sure the others weren't still awake.

"Five." He whispered as he shook Five's side, whispering to the male. The Healer awoke in a short amount of time and turned to Nine in confusion.

"Nine? Is something wrong?" he asked and Nine smiled mischievously.

"Let's go." Five blinked as Nine started to stand.

"What? Go where?"

Nine pointed towards the door, "To explore." Five followed the other, tiredly, but didn't voice his hesitance until they were out of hearing range of the others.

"Nine, I don't know about this," Five spoke softly. Nine was unconcerned.

"Come on, it'll be fun. We'll just check through the mansion and be back before the others know it," he said, and the Healer begrudgingly decided to go along with it.

"Just a few rooms, please?" he asked and Nine nodded in reassurance and the two set off into the house alone.

However, they didn't realize that someone had heard them, and was presently awaking.

Six immediately looked at the others and was able to catch that both Nine and Five were missing. Paranoia overtook as his eyes scanned the shadowed corners of the rooms. This place wasn't right and Six knew it. As such, he immediately got up, and practically ran to the edge of the bed, past Eight, past One and Two, who were strangely holding each other, and climbed down to the floor.

He had to find Nine and Five quickly to bring them back, they couldn't be out in this, and he knew there was nothing but danger lurking about. He scurried across the floor to the doorway and peered into the darkness. He shivered a bit and looked to the nearby candle that barely gave off any light. It was flickering and he couldn't understand why, as the hall air was still. Six started to feel an overwhelming feeling of dread as he stared at it, something in the back of his mind sounded like something, like a voice was speaking.

He couldn't understand the words in the slightest and they abruptly stopped when something fell upon his shoulder. He cried out and smacked it away, sharp fingers grating on fabric.

"What're you doing?!"

Six gaped at the voice and at the Stitchpunk before him. "Eight…?" He choked out as Eight rubbed his arm.

"Yeah. Now, what're you doing out here?" He didn't sound very pleased and the Artist looked at the floor.

"I was… I just…"

"Spit it out, Kid. I don't have all night," Eight said shortly and Six looked back up.

"Nine and Five…" Eight rose a brow, looked down the dark hall, and then his optics suddenly widened. He disappeared into the bedroom and returned rather quick.

"Where are they?" he asked, going for the candle and grabbing the small box of matches at the base of said candle. Before Six could speak, there was the sound of creaking from down the hall where the stairs were.

The noise didn't sound right to Six who had a bad feeling as Eight started in the direction. "Eight?"

The Guard turned back, looking annoyed. "If anyone wakes up, I'm just going to get them. I'll be back in a bit." He lit one of the matches and started into the dark. They weren't normal matches as they were treated by Two, made so that they could last longer than normal, and so they would last long enough to find Nine and Five.

Six didn't feel right letting Eight go alone. Sure, he wanted to hide alone in bed, but he did care for Eight. Even though the other frequently bullied him for fun. He soon started to follow behind, quietly, and keeping a distance. Eight headed to the top of the stairs where he held the match up to cast a dim light across the foyer. He was unafraid of anything lingering in the dark and merely stared around for the other two Stitchpunks.

Then, suddenly, he spoke. "Go back to bed, Six."

The Artist clutched his key and he spoke up for himself, "I… I want to come with you."

The Guard was about to retort, but soon shrugged. "Fine. Just stay close. Not too close." Then he started to head down the stairs one by one, Six hurrying to stay in the casted light.

Halfway down the steps he heard a rumbling noise and shuttered a bit. "What was that?"

Eight looked at the ceiling. "Probably the storm kicking up. A Beast would've howled or something."

Six wasn't too sure as he swore that the rumbling sounded like it had come from below. It also felt like Six was being stared at and he scanned the foyer before his optics stopped on the entrance to the dining room. His mismatched optics stared into the dark depths as his hands gripped onto the bars that trailed down the stairs and held up the banister.

The Guard looked around before gesturing into the room connected with the library. "They were in here earlier." He explained and entered inside, nearly leaving Six in the dark. For a second he swore he saw something moving in the dining room. Out of horror, he ran after Eight, into the nearby room. There was nobody inside, but Eight was careful to check under the couches, before the room suddenly went dark.

A hushed burst of whispers entered Six's audio receptors and he let out a short cry of fear before nearly leaping onto Eight who was crouched still. The Guard was certainly confused and lit another match.

"What's wrong with you now?" he asked and Six looked at the match.

"Why did it go out?"

The Guard looked exasperated. "It ran down and- What's that?" He suddenly perked and Six listened. A soft thump, then another, and another, continuing onwards as Eight stood again and stared into the small library. "It's coming from over there," he pointed out and began to head in the direction.

Six trailed softly behind, terrified. The thumping stopped the second that Eight got the match to light part of the library. There was nothing there, save a few books lying on the ground, a few books that Six suspected weren't left by the twins. Eight head towards the hall again and Six spoke up.

"Maybe we… We should get the others… We can all look," he insisted and Eight raised a brow before smirking.

"Scared?" he asked and Six looked to him desperately. That was when Six suddenly had a weird epiphany. Eight, standing there, holding a match, and then disappearing from sight. It was like a second of déjà vu that Six couldn't very well understand. Suddenly he was brought to reality by the box of matches striking him in the chest. "Carry those," Eight somewhat commanded and entered the hall.

Six followed behind him once again and watched the dark shadows climb the walls. He hoped Eight would go to the right, disappearing down the hall, but this was soon proven wrong. Instead, he headed towards the dining room, and Six spoke up, "Maybe we should-."

"I'm not going upstairs, Six."

Six was going to suggest going the other way but didn't feel like he could offer again once he realized Eight's slip. Eight had actually called him 'Six' instead of 'Kid'. Even though it was most likely an accident, it still made Six feel good, so he loyally followed the Guard along.

They entered the dining room where Eight immediately froze up. "Must be a broken window; It's freezing in here," he excused as he noticed his breath causing small puffs of smoke. "Look at this."

Six looked and was surprised. "I… I don't understand. It wasn't that cold outside."

Eight shrugged a little, "Maybe the rain caused it." He then noticed the match was dying and turned to Six. "I need another match."

Six reached into the box and retrieved a match, lighting it on his foot like he saw Two do before. He then handed it to Eight only to freeze. Behind Eight he saw something that took him aback. On the other side of the table he could see legs, human legs.

The feet were without shoes and a white gown, like nightclothes, stopped right before the ankles and frilled at the bottom. It was only a second before it disappeared and Eight took this as a sign that Six had, mistakenly, thought he saw something when he saw the others. He led Six silently after taking the match and they crossed under the table to the other doorway that led into an old kitchen.

This was when Six heard the voice again, or voices, speaking at the back of his mind. He couldn't determine what they were saying except they didn't sound pleased. At one point, he did hear something that he clearly identified as being in another language, and cursed that he could only speak one. That wasn't the only weird thing in the room, though. There was a strange grinding noise that they looked over towards.

Turned out that there was a knife hanging on the wall with other utensils, at least Six hoped it was supposed to be there, and was rubbing on a box beneath it. Back and forth it swung before slowly coming to a stop. It begged the question of what had been making it move, but that wasn't the only thing Six noticed. He was beginning to notice a gaping hole at the back of the room, a small open door, which was presently opening at a steady pace.

Six stared in alarm at the sight and recoiled a bit. "Eight…" He said softly in warning and the Guard looked over. He made his own assumption, that this was elaborate prank.

"That's pretty funny, but I'm still taking you two back. Come on, get out of there," he said, beckoning with a motion of the match, but receiving no answer. "I don't have all night." There was still no answer and Eight started to approach.

Six had a horrific feeling of dread and stopped him, "Wait…" Eight looked back with scrutiny and Six paused. "I… I think it was a draft… I don't think they went down there." Then decided to lie. "I think I heard something upstairs above us. It was either them or the others."

It was to protect Eight; he didn't want the guard near that door, but he wasn't sure why. Eight seemed to buy it well enough and turned away from the door.

"Are you sure?" Six nodded to keep from lying anymore and Eight huffed in annoyance. "They're avoiding us. Alright, let's go. If we hurry, we'll be able to corner them up there."

Eight did hurry as well. He nearly ran to the stairs, determination across his face, and they climbed the stairs. Another match was lit and only about seven remained afterwards.

The room above the kitchen was a nursery that was empty, and dust covered. A small bed rested in the corner and across from it was a crib. The floor was covered with numerous kinds of toys and Eight immediately started searching through them to find whoever was hiding. He was interrupted by the sound of tinkling and looked to the right to see a small toy that looked like an animal on wheels moving past. It had a bell on it, which made the noise, and Eight looked back towards Six only to see the male was too far away to have moved it, climbing onto the crib.

He turned back to the horse only to notice it had moved yet again. It had readjusted, now completely facing him, and it disturbed Eight incredibly. It didn't stop as he looked around, though, noticing the other toys around him were faced towards him. A few little, metal soldiers were aligned together pointing towards Eight, a stuffed animal as well, and the Guard swore he saw the animal twitch.

"How'd I not notice this when I walked up?" he muttered to himself as he slowly stepped out of its line of vision.

This wasn't the only bizarre event that occurred, though. Eight wandered to the back of the nursery and began to experience even more of these bizarre events. This time, though, things were beginning to bluntly move before him. It started with another toy on wheels that looked like a car. Eight watched it slowly inch across the floor before it abruptly stopped. The Guard slowly reached back towards his knife and pulled it free, only to flinch at the sound of soft giggling from nearby. It sounded like a young female.

Six lit up another match for himself and peered into the crib. It looked soft on the inside and for a second Six felt a tug of exhaustion. He wanted to cuddle up in bottom of the small bed and fall asleep, disappearing from the world. The second he started to move through the cribs he noticed something dark in the bottom of the crib. Putting the match in closer, he could see a puddle of red liquid beginning to form in the bottom. He knew what blood was, and recoiled as such.

"Eight." He forced himself to stay calm as he continued. "I think we should leave."

Eight was beginning to get uneasy as well but refused to accept this as anything more than an awkward event. They quickly, and silently, left the room and entered the next. This one was another bedroom with a smaller bed and a dresser. However, Six was immediately taken by something it the corner. "What's that?" he asked.

It looked to him like a sphere object. Eight looked in the direction and raised a stitched brow, "What are you talking about?"

Six pointed with a single, sharp finger and wide optics. "There! It's a… A ball of light!"

Eight looked over, looked confused, and looked back. "Six, there's nothing there."

The Artist couldn't believe it and blinked a few times. It was still there, and he was insistent. "Eight, it's right there, I'm looking right at it." To show that this wasn't the case, Eight started over, and Six rushed up and grabbed his wrist. "Wait, don't, stop!" he yelped, "There's something there, I know it, please don't."

The Guard pulled away and was becoming less interested in the event. The events from earlier were going ignored merely to spite Six. "Look, I don't know what you see through those weirdly shaped optics, but there is nothing there." He gestured across the area. "Look, nothing. You can't say there's something there. Not even in your state."

Six winced at the comment and watched as Eight wandered over towards the light. He stood right in the center of it and looked back, "Am I on it?" With that, the sphere vanished, and Six had a feeling that this only meant something bad. That is, until Eight spoke, "Nothing here. Now can we-?"

Nothing except an 'oomph' noise as Eight vanished. Six choked and ran forwards, alighting with his match where the Guard had fallen through the floor. The portion of the floor looked rotten and the Artist realized that the Guard's weight caused it to cave. Almost as though the light was to lure them over. A feeling of dread passed as he realized that Eight had straight through to whatever was connected to the door in the kitchen. It was not accident, he believed, the things he saw used him to their advantage.

He dropped the currently held match into the hole after the Guard before lighting another. He didn't go for the others and headed straight for the stairs.

Eight landed heavily upon something hard and cloth covered. Promptly after a dead match fell on him, soon followed by a lit one that he assumed Six dropped down. He managed to drag himself up quick.

"Damn…" He groaned as he looked up. He couldn't see the hole he fell through as the light was too dim to do so. Instead, he looked around, and suddenly noticed what he was standing on.

He fell back off of the human remains with a short yell of horror. It wasn't just one either, there were at least seven bodies, all lying across the floor, looking shriveled. Eight was disgusted and attempted to avert his optics before shivering.

"Just my luck," he muttered. "I'm going to kill Six if I see him ever again." He could see a doorway and noticed it lead into the kitchen. "Least I know where I am, but why…" He merely thought the last part, "_Why're all these bodies in here?"_

Instead, Eight noticed a noise in the back of the room and spun back. "Hello?" It sounded like a creaking noise, or a whining noise. Suddenly he wondered if Six had fallen with him. "Six?" As he crossed around the bodies towards the back of the room. The creaking noise shifted and was definitely whimpering now. Soft sobs, whimpers, and Eight became more concerned. "Six? Are you hurt?" He knew he would've been fine falling like that, but Six was more fragile, Six could be hurt.

The soft sobs grew louder as Eight approached the back of the room. He raised his match to shine the light across the frame of another deceased human. This time there was something wrong, it looked like the body was moving. He thought it was the light from the match flickering at first. This soon proved to be wrong, especially when its head twisted around. He noticed the human body was bare but could make little of it gender, simply knowing that it was a purplish color, unnatural.

Then it looked to him, showing its face. The eyes were virtually missing and the sockets were sunken in. The mouth was the same way, oozing a reddish liquid that Eight knew was blood, dripping from its chapped lips. Eight had seen little of living humans, but he knew that this was not right. It then began to make a disturbing noise that sound like a human moaning mixed with the grinding and rattling of machinery.

Eight didn't know why, but he felt nothing but fear, and knew this thing was something to avoid. He turned back to the door and began to dash towards it, seeing a dull light outside like a candle or something approaching, and then the door abruptly slammed. Eight went to grab his knife again only to be suddenly thrown forward against the ground. Something was on him, but in the dull light he saw nothing, as the thing in the corner was still residing in the corner apparently.

The match hit the ground as Eight was flung. It was incredible that something, even invisible, had enough strength to lift him off the ground and send him against the wall. It was a painful hit and followed by something grabbing onto his shoulder guard and knife, using the grip to throw him back to the floor. He couldn't see anything and the match soon died completely. His limbs began to feel twisted as he was forced against the ground.

Six knew, from the noises, that something was going on. He could hear Eight making noises of pain and could hear the banging about. He smashed his sharp fists upon the door.

"Stop! _Stop!" _he begged helplessly as he listened to Eight getting killed. Whatever this thing was in the house, it was uncaring, it was murderous, and it triggered the Artist to become furious. He began to bang against the door harder and harder. "Stop it, stop it, _stop it! Let him go!_"

Something snapped. It was as though his mind twisted, something inside twitched and flexed, and suddenly the door gave, though it was like pushing against a heavy weight. There was a thud from inside as Eight was abruptly dropped. Perhaps Six's breaking through triggered his attacker to pull back, maybe breaking conversation, but Six soon was dashing in with a lit match.

"Eight?!" he called frantically as he ran up to Eight's side.

The Guard had the wind knocked out of him and was lying on his back. Slowly he started to sit up and looked to the Artist. "Are you okay?" Six asked and this was answered by Eight suddenly forcing himself up.

"We've got to get out of here. Now," Eight commanded and looked around. To his alarm, the room had changed. Instead of a large room of bodies, it had morphed into a small pantry. Not a single corpse in sight.

Six didn't argue and the two dashed out. The door tried to close on them and there was some odd knocking on the walls, but nothing dangerous. By time Eight and Six arrived at the candle in the hall, all activity had stopped, and Eight spoke.

"Alright," he said. "What's going on here?" He looked to Six and the Artist was surprised that the Guard trusted his opinion.

"I… I think they…" Six briefly thought before finishing, "I think they were human souls."

"Like, dead humans?" Eight asked, "Why'd they want to kill us? They've been screwing with us all night. It doesn't make sense."

"Actually, it does make sense…. It only took a little part of a human soul to make us. Imagine what a group of human souls, no longer held down by bodies, could end up doing to us." They both went solemn and silent.

"Why aren't they attacking now?" Eight asked and Six shrugged.

"I don't know… Maybe they… Maybe they are waiting to attack again…"

Eight soon came up with his own idea. "Wait… It went after us when we were around that room, but once we got this far away it's barely noticeable. Maybe it's there and was trying to get us to go there, or something like that, you know?" He looked to the striped one, "Six?" The Artist shrugged softly but didn't answer. It was obvious that he was still traumatized by the entire event and Eight exhaled.

"Let's get back to the others and get some sleep or something. It's not around here and my back is killing me." Six gasped when Eight rested a hand on his back to lead him into the room with the others. A small gesture, but it certainly made Six feel nice, and even a bit warm in the face.

They climbed back onto the bed before Eight suddenly looked like he would explode. Six soon noticed that he was glaring at two Stitchpunks nearby, asleep together. It was Nine and Five, the two they went out to find, the two they searched for the whole time. He stormed to Five and Nine's frame and shook the latter awake.

"Hey." He whispered harshly, "Where were you?"

Nine slowly awoke, looking groggy. "What?"

Eight pointed towards the door. "I've been looking for you. Where were you?"

He was obviously furious and Nine explained, "Five and I went up into the attic. Why?"

Eight wanted to yell but didn't want to awake any of the others. "…Never mind. Go back to sleep."

With this, Nine wrapped an arm around Five and buried his head into his buttoned front. The Guard merely wandered over to where he had been sleeping before.

Six started towards the pillows when Eight spoke, "Six."

Six looked over, "Yes?"

The Guard suddenly looked a bit softer in his features and managed a small smile. "I don't know what you did down there, but thanks."

Six clutched his key and smiled back shyly, "It wasn't anything. I broke its concentration; that was all." He waited for another comment and the two remained their awkwardly, unsure of what to do next.

That's when Eight cleared his voice module. "Maybe you should stay over here. Let me keep my eye on you."

The offer surprised Six, but he cautiously approached, and soon settled beside Eight's side. Eight wrapped an arm around the smaller male and held him close. For a second, they both realized how scared they were to be alone, and knew staying up together was the only option.

* * *

Somewhere along the line, the plan went array. Eight had planned to stay awake, but now was waking up with the bright glare of the sun piercing through the window into his optics. Six was still tight in his grasp, the small Artist curled into a small ball, and Eight rested his head upon his. It was a bit strange how a single incident made his hate for the Artist change to some sort of confusing friendship thing.

That was when he heard Two from behind. "If we can't make it out through this window of sunlight then we may have to stay another night." This was directed at One who was attempting to sleep longer.

Eight decided that he wasn't sleeping for another second and shook Six vigorously until the Artist awoke. Six had been tucked again Eight's front, as though attempting to hide. When he awoke, he was groggy and confused so Eight explained. "It's morning, it's sunny, and we need to get the hell out of here."

Six shot up after that with the same look of determination and fear as Eight.

It was then that they headed straight downstairs in a haze with the others. Nobody else, not even Nine and Five, had noticed a thing. Thankfully, there was relief as they stepped outside the mansion and into the damp world outside. Six felt something heavy that came with him into the house lift from him him at that moment and was pleased.

That is, until Two spoke, "It certainly is a lovely house. Perhaps we should return?"

Six watched as the others, save Eight, all agreed.

"Think you can draw it up on one of the maps before we forget the way?" Nine asked Five. He agreed to, as he usually did with Nine's ideas, and mentioned that he'd do it when he got home. With this, Eight leaned over Six's shoulder.

"You get the map and I'll get rid of it. Deal?"

Six smiled a little, "Deal."

With their departure the mansion went quiet once again.

_**END**_


	4. A Match in the Watchtower

_**A Match in the Watchtower**_

One didn't want to get stuck in this situation.

Ever since the Sanctuary was rebuilt in the Library, One had not felt that he had much say in what happened. He agreed to be more lenient and had been able to acquire his role as Leader once again. This didn't matter when the other Stitchpunks did whatever they wanted anyway, but it was something, and yet he should have expected this to occur. Soon after Two had been healed by his apprentice the two of them decided to build a new Watchtower on the roof of the Library.

It went well for the most part. The new Watchtower actually had wooden walls and a sturdy roof, with large windows on the walls that were able to be closed if need be for weather reasons, and they had been working on finding a replacement spyglass. It never bothered One that they spent so much time working until a day like this occurred. A storm was rolling in and Two decided to head into the Watchtower to make sure it was closed tight. Five was too busy trying to juggle the twins and Nine that he couldn't go with him.

Alone Two usually tended to find things to fix or work on so One went along to prod him into coming back immediately. To give him a little more control than he had recently. Unfortunately, they made it to the Watchtower, generator from below still powering the few bulbs inside, and their luck ran out. One watched in horror as the lift got caught once beneath the Watchtower and refused to go back down once again to the Sanctuary. It only grew worse when the bulbs began to flicker.

Two's small generator could only keep certain strands of lights going at once and was currently sending all of its power into the Watchtower. That didn't mean it was reliable and the Leader watched as Two began to close the wooden window covers. He latched them closed against the barrage of wind and mist.

It rained down upon the roof heavily and Two turned to One. "I think I have some oil in the back and I can use it on the-." That's when the lights suddenly died with a sizzle.

There was a small pause between One spoke, "Fix this _now_."

"I will, I will." Two started before pausing, "I can't."

One sputtered, "What do you mean, you can't?!"

The Inventor chuckled a bit nervously and began to feel over the workbench that was set up in the Watchtower. "Well, the generator is downstairs, and I cannot tell if it short circuited or if there is a break in the cord or-."

One exhaled in annoyance as Two began to continue listing problems before speaking, "Never mind that. Just find the oil and loosen the… Lift."

Two seemed amused as he filled in the gap, "The pulley."

It was pitch dark and with the bulbs dead there was not even the dull buzz from them to fill in the silence. The patter of rain was something, but certainly not comforting. One started across the floor to approach the workbench where Two was apparently searching.

After fumbling a bit he managed to get where he thought was behind Two, "Have you found it?" Two flinched against the workbench and only then did One realize that he was practically on top of him.

"You startled me." He pointed out and One sourly voiced, "I do not know how I could have. I couldn't have gone anywhere else, there is nowhere to go."

"Oh, don't be like that." Two lightly reprimanded as he shook a jar, "Hmm… This is not good. It seems that we are out of oil… Well, that's alright. We'll just wait until the storm dies down and climb down from the outside."

One sputtered in alarm, "You- You expect us to climb down the outside of the Library, in the rain, you cannot possibly think that is sane!"

Two again just brushed One off and simply responded, "I said, after the storm dies down, and it's more of a trek than an actual climb. There's an opening that lets down into the Library nearby."

Even though he couldn't see One, his silence signaled discontent, and Two offered, "Why don't you just sit down and I'll look for some matches?"

One scoffed at the prospect before going to find where the stool was. Two and him bumped into each other more than once trying to find their way around and eventually One grew annoyed, "Where is that forsaken stool? I know you had one in here!"

Two playfully spoke in a faux grim tone, "Perhaps it is hiding away, plotting your demise." Then finished with a fake crackle and One was certainly not impressed by the act.

"Amusing, yes, and where would it be plotting?" The Inventor shrugged in the dark as his voice was a bit strained. One assumed that he was reaching for something as he certainly couldn't see him.

"I'm not sure. Here we are." He lowered himself and tapped something wooden in his hands, "A single match. We should have restocked, I'm well aware, but this is all we have. I assume that we should save lighting it as long as possible."

The Leader released a small groan and moved to the wall before sliding down to sit. Thankfully the ground was clean enough, though he still felt the need to criticize.

"Woodchips all about, dust, can't find a single stool…" One quieted as he heard Two stumble closer, struggling to feel against the wall and touching One's shoulder. His warm hand caused One to shiver and he swore that it was because it contrasted with the somewhat cool Watchtower. Two lowered himself down onto the ground until his leg admitted a loud popping noise. It actually caused One to somewhat flinch, "Creator, was that your leg?!"

Two chuckled tiredly, managing to sit down beside One, "They're still adjusting."

"It sounds as though they are breaking."

Two continued to rest his hand on the other male's shoulder, squeezing it, "I'll survive. For now, let's talk."

The Leader looked in his direction in confusion, "Talk? About what?"

Two shrugged a bit, "Oh, I don't know, something interesting. We haven't really had a nice talk since… before the Incident at least! I'm sure we can find something interesting to talk about."

As soon as he said that, silence filled the Watchtower, and neither knew what to speak about. To be fair things were a bit awkward between the two of them. To think that it had once been the two of them, alone together, trying to survive with only each other's company. Now it seemed that they barely interacted with each other and neither knew why.

Then One spoke, "You said 'I'll survive'. Have your legs been troubling you?" Two didn't know whether to be honest or to dismiss it as he did when the others would ask. He decided to attempt the former; after all, One would prefer honesty.

"Not as much as they were, but they have been giving me problems when I wind down for the day," he admitted and One somewhat scoffed again.

"I don't remember you ever winding down." This got a small chuckle out of the Inventor.

"Ah, One! I missed this! I missed us getting some time to talk. It has just been so busy with rebuilding. Starting everything over; it's both exciting and devastating." The Leader nodded and the shorter squeezed his shoulder again. "And I know you miss the Cathedral. How have you been doing?"

Nobody had really asked One this question and he stared into the darkness. He was relieved that Two couldn't see the warring of emotions across his face before he answered. "Well enough. As Leader, I must stay strong for the others."

He expected this to stop this portion of the conversation, but it didn't, and Two added in, "You always have been strong, One. That does not mean that you are not allowed to mourn. We lost our home."

At first One decided not to respond, but eventually he did answer, "You have a good head on your shoulders."

"Thank you. I am quite fond of it," Two added in before sliding the arm around the other's shoulders.

One didn't exactly expect this much personal space to be broken, especially in the dark, and could only assume that Two was holding him as a way of seeing with his hands. This somewhat relaxed One to regain a regal posture. Instead he decided to change the subject, "The Library is not nearly as safe as the Cathedral was. However, I will admit that having the books, knowledge so close, is somewhat helpful."

Two nodded in agreement, "Three and Four certainly enjoy it. Perhaps you and I should find a nice book and read together. I am sure we can find something pleasant."

This was what spurred One to ask, "Why, pray tell, do you keep suggesting that we do activities together?" There was silence; Two was staring and staying very still, as though he was alarmed or hurt. One suddenly felt the need to correct, "Not that I am against it. I would enjoy to speak to someone at least half as mature as me again, even if it must be you."

It was an actual playful comment on One's part and Two seemed to grasp it, sounding relieved as he spoke, "Well, I just… I just noticed…" There was something strange with his voice. Then, suddenly, he slumped back against the wall, "One, remember when it was just us?"

His voice was so distant that One was somewhat alarmed and also noted that Two's arm dropped lifelessly from his shoulders.

"We had such aspirations, such hopes, we feared an unknown source and because of that it shielded us from the truth, the horrific truth about the Machine." He rested the match in his lap and began to massage his hands to warm them, "It was just you and I… While nothing would make me wish that the others were gone, I care for them more than I can say, but I do wish that… That you and I still had that time we used to have."

That was when it all rushed back to One in a single blur. The reason things were so awkward now. Two and him had spent so long in close contact, even going as far to sleep huddled together for warmth, and then something strange happened, something started feeling different.

Before they could elaborate on these feelings, the others had come into the picture, and their issues had been cut short. They still occasionally had the talks, but nothing had been as close as then, and One had thought it was only him who had noticed. He looked to Two, unable to see him through the darkness, and then mimicked Two's actions.

Feeling across Two's arm, he rested a hand on Two's shoulder in a comforting motion, "The Machine is gone now. We have nothing but time left and how we spend it is our own matter."

The Inventor clearly perked at this and One continued, deciding to allow himself to be more optimistic, "Tomorrow we will start trying harder to recover that lost time. Perhaps start a book, maybe find another chess set; I can leave the throne for some time."

Two choked, "You can?" That almost naïve tone caused One to get a brief smile; Two could certainly be endearing when he wanted to be.

"I can make time." Then paused. "…To be fair, I have made a few mistakes in my time-."

"Like sending me out to die?" One briefly winced, not realizing that Two heard that, and the Inventor explained, "Five asked me if it was true and I was certainly surprised. After all, you sent me out by scolding me for planning to leave. Clever."

The Leader turned away, "I was desperate. I needed control on the situation and would have said anything."

Two chuckled a bit, "One, you know I do not blame you, not in the slightest. They were just words."

One exhaled, "Yes… Let us not speak on this anymore." Then he abruptly tried to change the conversation and now turned it to the match, "Are you positive that there is only a single match?"

Two nodded in the dark before speaking, "Yes, apparently Five and I never thoroughly stocked the Watchtower for such an occasion. At least we have this one."

One asked further, "Did you bring any candles up here?"

Two briefly thought before discouragingly replying, "No. I don't believe that we ever did." They both were clearly unnerved that they were going to be trapped in the dark, in a storm for the rest of the night.

Promptly after lighting shook the Watchtower a few seconds later, Two pulled closer to One, his head resting somewhat against One's shoulder. "It certainly sounds like it can get in to us, doesn't it?"

One agreed with a chaste response as he noticed how Two seemed to be sliding closer in. If he didn't know better, he would say that Two was afraid, and that his own body was reacting strangely to Two's touches. After all, Two certainly did remain in a constant state of emitting warmth that seemed to spread into One.

One decided that he had to stop the warmth before it spread and spoke, "Perhaps we need to just light it and use that time to search for anything useful."

Two seemed to agree, but didn't exactly move, "I am positive there is some cloth in the chest in the far corner that we can use if we have to stay the night. It may get cold. We might also have to search for something to actually do." He chuckled at this and One shrugged and the Inventor lifted the match, "Alright, well, he we go. Be prepared to hurry because we don't have much time."

Then Two struck the match to light on the floor, holding it firm in his hand as it alit the Watchtower. One suddenly found a new predicament blooming the second that the dull light sent an orange glow over his soft facial features. Suddenly everything they had talked about changed because now he could see Two, he no longer just saw darkness, he actually saw Two, soft and gentle Two who had clearly stated that he missed having alone time with One.

The Leader couldn't control himself and spoke, "Two…"

Two looked over to One with a friendly smile, "Yes, One?"

That had done it, that had sealed their fate. One reached out and let his hand touch over the fabric of the other's cheek. The warmth had returned along with old feelings that One hadn't felt since the others had appeared and distracted them. A fondness that One couldn't recognize with anyone else. Not even Eight, not even he felt this close, felt this wanted. Without even a hesitation One came forward and took Two's lips with his own.

The Inventor gasped in alarm at the action, but One could feel that he wasn't pulling away, and felt when the other relaxed. This had been long overdue. This should have occurred long ago and both knew it. Now they had all the time in the world, no distractions, and only barely noticed when the match slipped from Two's hand and hit the ground. It slowly faded and died, leaving them in the dark once again.

Only then did they allow themselves to fully let go, arms intertwining, two souls together in the dark, and suddenly the grim night seemed much less unfortunate.

_**FIN**_


End file.
